Platforms

Platforms

Case Study: Henderson Wholesale

How 360° advice makes CHEP more than a pallet company

Henderson Wholesale is one of the four operating divisions of the Henderson Group, based near Belfast in Northern Ireland. It distributes nearly 7,000 ambient, fresh and frozen food products to around 400 stores throughout Northern Ireland from its central warehouse.

The Challenge

Due to space constraints, the company has relied on technology in purchasing, product control and transportation in order to grow. But it needed further improvements in its operations, and in a new distribution centre it was building.

The Answer

Henderson Wholesale asked CHEP to collaborate with it to find new ways to improve logistics efficiency, worker safety, sustainability and sales performance. CHEP’s research detailed a number of opportunities the company could grasp.

With Henderson Wholesale, CHEP conducted a review of the warehouse to explore current working practices and identify potential changes. CHEP submitted a report detailing opportunities for improvements in worker training, pallet handling, and health and safety. It also highlighted potential cost savings through reduced product damage and modifications to improve efficiency and safety.

As well as this, Henderson Group Warehouse Manager, Alan Abraham, says, “CHEP identified an opportunity to maximise our transport fleet by utilising empty vehicles. This reduced our carbon footprint and created a revenue stream for us.”

CHEP identifies environmental and sales benefits

The Henderson Group is an organisation with a strong company ethos. It has a clear corporate social responsibility strategy called ‘Tomorrow Matters’, and Alan Abraham agrees that CHEP pooled pallets are an ideal fit. “Reusable pallets meet our sustainability position,” he says. “Plus, I know CHEP pallets are durable and reliable. When our suppliers use blue pallets, the flow of goods is not going to be inhibited in any way.”

CHEP also suggested introducing display pallets to the company’s convenience-shopping store format, such as its 300-plus SPAR stores. These half and quarter pallets are typically used as pre-packaged platforms for promotional displays, providing retailers with better stock control and reduced stock-outs, as well as higher sales.

Working with CHEP to improve the supply chain

Henderson Wholesale partnered with CHEP to find new opportunities for improvement in logistics efficiency, worker safety, sustainability and sales performance. And the partnership has delivered the hoped-for benefits. As Alan Abraham says: “CHEP is more than a pallet company to our business. They act more like a facilitator between retailer and supplier, joining forces with our entire team to find ways to make the supply chain work better for us all.”

I know CHEP pallets are durable and reliable. When our suppliers use blue pallets, the flow of goods is not going to be inhibited in any way.

Alan AbrahamWarehouse Manager, Henderson Group

Five benefits of the CHEP solution

Identifying opportunities: CHEP’s in-depth research found the best ways to make working practices more efficient, safer and more cost-effective

Supporting corporate social responsibility: using CHEP’s pooled pallets fits with the company’s vision